OVERVIEW
In his first year as a starter in 2014, Martinez proved worthy of honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors by leading the Cardinal with 102 tackles, seven for loss, 4.5 sacks, and three interceptions. In Year 2, he played at an All-American level (third-team Associated Press, second-team USA Today) as the Cardinal won the conference championship, stuffing plays inside and moving to either sideline to rack up 141 tackles, 6.5 for loss. The 2015 first-team All-Conference pick again made plays against the pass this year, intercepting one pass and breaking up six others.
PRO DAY RESULTS
Vertical: 34 inches60-yard long shuttle: 11.68 seconds
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Good muscle thickness and one of the most powerful, pound-for-pound players in the program. Has desired temperament to play in the middle. Physical, productive tackler. Downhill linebacker. Business-minded machine against the run, maintaining consistent gap responsibility. Disciplined on back-side squeezing cutback lanes. Stuffs second level leg blocks and keeps gliding down the line. Uses heavy hands at the point of attack. Plays square to line of scrimmage with eyes stuck on runner. Plus balance and keeps his feet. Will dart and dodge past oncoming, second level traffic in lateral pursuit of ball carrier. Improved against the pass from 2014 to 2015. Showed some functional ability in man coverage and is quick to close out throws and limit yards after catch. Offers instant special teams value. Willing worker on "teams" and finds the ball.WEAKNESSES
Slow twitch with borderline play speed. Must transition from a power mindset to a little more quickness in everything he does. Will need quicker hands to jab and separate to stay clean against NFL linemen. Below average lateral quickness. Won't win many foot races to the perimeter and has little margin for error with his angles. Not athletic enough to recover if he gets hung up on a block for too long. Too easily fooled into vacating his positioning by play-action. Doesn't have reactive athleticism to quickly recover back into his duties after biting on fakes. More of a block occupier than serious threat when blitzing. Average awareness dropping into zone coverage. Situational awareness needs work.DRAFT PROJECTION
Rounds 5 or 6NFL COMPARISON
Martrell SpaightBOTTOM LINE
Full-time starter over the last two years who plays with the temperament and ruggedness that Stanford wants in the middle of their defense. Martinez is a muscled-up, throwback linebacker in a league that covets twitch and play speed over throwback traits. His special teams ability and overall tackle production is a big plus, but his draft stock might not match up with his elevated college production due to concerns over his quickness.
CBS:
STRENGTHS: Looks the part of an NFL linebacker with broad shoulders and an athletic, well-distributed frame. Highly aggressive run defender who attacks the line of scrimmage, showing no hesitation to take on blockers at the point of attack. Balanced, coordinated athlete who shows creativity in slipping under or spinning through would-be blocks.
Generally reliable open-field tackler, lassoing ballcarriers with his long arms and strong hands. Possesses the agility and awareness to handle coverage responsibilities, showing light feet and fluidity when changing directions. Locates the ball quickly and accelerates smoothly.
WEAKNESSES: Isn't a classic thumper 3-4 inside linebacker who will consistently take on and shed blockers in the hole. A bit taller than ideal for the inside and has a tendency to get caught up in the trash. Too often catches ballcarriers and falls backward rather than driving through his target.
Doesn't appear to possess the straight-line speed to beat backs to the edge or to handle deep seam responsibilities against NFL tight ends. Limited pass rusher, lacking the agility to elude blockers or the explosive power to bull rush through them.
IN OUR VIEW: By leading the Pac-12 with 141 total tackles in 2015, Martinez will certainly get a long look from NFL scouts, who could see his length and athleticism as a better fit outside. Martinez may need to impress in workouts to help convince scouts that his gaudy production wasn't inflated due to Stanford's scheme.
--Rob Rang (1/18/16)
